Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Publikation der Sanktionsverfügung der CH-Wettbewerbskommission

Publikation der Sanktionsverfügung der CH-Wettbewerbskommission
Ziele der Veröffentlichung
Publikation vor der Rechtskraft der Sanktionsverfügung
Nikon-Urteil
Reputationsschaden
Veröffentlichung des Namens der Parteien
Schwärtzungsanträge: Pflicht, alle Anträge sofort zu stellen


3.2. Das Bundesgericht hat im Nikon-Urteil die die Ziele der durch die Veröffentlichung von Verfügungen der WEKO wie folgt zusammengefasst (BGE 142 II 268 E. 4.2.5 S. 273 f.) :

3.2.1. Erstens haben Entscheide im Rahmen des Kartellgesetzes einen Einfluss auf das Wirtschaften der Unternehmer; es ist deshalb naheliegend, dass die Verfügungen der Öffentlichkeit zur Kenntnis gebracht werden, damit diese ihr Verhalten an der Praxis der Wettbewerbsbehörden ausrichten können. Dies ist zum einen wegen der geringen Anzahl von höchstrichterlichen Entscheiden und angesichts der - aufgrund von zu beantwortenden komplexen Fragen - langen Verfahrensdauer und zum anderen wegen der Tatsache, dass nicht jede ursprünglich strittige Frage bis vor das Bundesgericht getragen wird, besonders angezeigt. Insofern dient die Veröffentlichung zunächst der Prävention und der Rechtssicherheit.

Das öffentliche Interesse wird auch nicht dadurch hinfällig, dass die Publikation vor der Rechtskraft der Sanktionsverfügung bzw. der Rechtskraft der Publikationsverfügung erfolgt. Wie das Bundesgericht im Nikon-Urteil feststellt (BGE 142 II 268 E.4.2.5.4 S. 274), hält der Gesetzgeber eine Publikation von (nicht rechtskräftigen) Entscheiden der WEKO als notwendig, um volkswirtschaftlich oder sozial schädliche Auswirkungen von Kartellen und anderen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen zu verhindern und somit wirksamen Wettbewerb verwirklichen zu können und nimmt dabei in Kauf, dass publizierte Verfügungen der WEKO in einem späteren Verfahrensstadium auch aufgehoben oder korrigiert werden können.

4.2.4 (…) Schliesslich sei die Veröffentlichung zumutbar, da das öffentliche Interesse das private Interesse der Beschwerdeführerin an der Vermeidung eines allfälligen Reputationsschaden überwiege. Dem Privatinteresse werde ausreichend Rechnung getragen dadurch, dass für jedermann ersichtlich ist, dass die Sanktionsverfügung noch nicht in Rechtskraft erwachsen ist.

4.2.5 (…) Wenn auch eine gekürzte Fassung der Verfügung zur Erreichung der Zielsetzungen ausgereicht hätte, so kann der WEKO mangels eines solchen Antrags nicht vorgeworfen werden, dies nicht von Amtes wegen getan zu haben. Was die Veröffentlichung des Namens der Parteien anbelangt, ist Art. 28 KG zu berücksichtigen. Danach wird die Eröffnung der Untersuchung u.a. mit den Namen der Adressaten der Untersuchung publiziert. Diese Vorgabe hat verbindlichen Charakter (Art. 190 BV). Der Name ist insofern dem Publikum bekannt. Die Sanktionsverfügung liesse sich zudem wohl kaum mehr so anonymisieren, dass keine Rückschlüsse auf die Namen möglich ist. Des Weiteren gilt zu beachten, dass auch im Strafgerichtsverfahren Urteile grundsätzlich samt Namen verkündet werden; für eine Anonymisierung müssen besondere Voraussetzungen gegeben sein (vgl. Art. 149 Abs. 2 und 150 StPO).

4.2.6. Der Name ist also bereits früher - und zwar zu Recht - bekannt. Die gesetzlich vorgesehene Namensnennung ist dabei Folge einer vom Gesetzgeber vorgenommenen Abwägung zwischen dem Interesse der Beschwerdeführerin und anderer Wirtschaftsteilnehmer (vgl. BGE 142 II 268 nicht publizierte E. 8.4.1). Auch die Rüge der Unzumutbarkeit der Veröffentlichung der Publikationsverfügung vor Eintritt der Rechtskraft der Sanktionsverfügung geht fehl. Diese Rechtsfolge wurde vom Gesetzgeber ausdrücklich in Kauf genommen (vgl. BGE 142 II 268 nicht publizierte E. 8.4.1).

5.2. (…) Das Bundesgericht hat im Nikon-Urteil festgehalten, dass die Publikation der Sanktionsverfügung vor Rechtskraft die Unschuldsvermutung nicht verletze, da Art. 6 Abs. 2 EMRK den staatlichen Behörden nicht verbiete, die Öffentlichkeit über laufende strafrechtliche Untersuchungen und Verfahren zu informieren. (BGE 142 II 268, nicht publizierte E. 8.3 und 8.4.1). Diese Rechtsprechung ist auch im vorliegenden Fall zu berücksichtigen (…).

6.2. (…) Soweit sie die Verletzung von verfassungsmässigen Rechten rügt, kann darauf mangels ausreichender Substantiierung nicht eingegangen werden. Das Argument, sie habe ihre Rechtslage nicht durch die Stellung von Schwärzungsanträgen schwächen wollen, ist nicht nachvollziehbar. Es wäre vielmehr ihre prozessökonomische Pflicht gewesen, alle Anträge sofort zu stellen. Indem sie auch auf die zweite Aufforderung der WEKO, Schwärzungsanträge zu stellen, nicht eingegangen ist, durfte die Vorinstanz annehmen, sie habe auf weitere rechtserhebliche Vorbringen verzichten wollen.


Urteil 2C_994/2017 des Bundesgerichts, II. öffentlichrechtliche Abteilung, vom 26. Juni 2019 in Sachen Bringen AG, Beschwerdeführerin, vertreten durch [...] gegen Wettbewerbskommission – Gegenstand: Publikation der Sanktionsverfügung vom 29. Juni 2015, Beschwerde gegen das Urteil des Bundesverwaltungsgerichts, Abteilung II, vom 24. Oktober 2017 (B-149/2017), in RPW 2019/4, 1346-1350

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Customs - Certificate of Origin - CH Fact Sheet


Customs

Certificates of Origin (CoO)

Fact sheet for determining the formal validity of proofs of origin:


In French:

Notice servant à la détermination de la validité formelle des preuves d'origine (état au 25 juin 2019)



Monday, June 24, 2019

U.S. Supreme Court, Dutra Group v. Batterton, Docket No. 18-266


Admiralty Law
Maritime Law
Common Law
Equity
Jones Act
Punitive Damages
Exemplary Damages
Unseaworthiness Actions
Maritime Claim of Maintenance and Cure.


By granting federal courts jurisdiction over maritime and admiralty cases, the Constitution implicitly directs federal courts sitting in admiralty to proceed “in the man­ner of a common law court.” Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 554 U. S. 471, 489–490 (2008). Thus, where Congress has not prescribed specific rules, federal courts must develop the “amalgam of traditional common-law rules, modifica­tions of those rules, and newly created rules” that forms the general maritime law. East River S. S. Corp. v. Transamerica Delaval Inc., 476 U. S. 858, 864–865 (1986). But maritime law is no longer solely the province of the Federal Judiciary. “Congress and the States have legis­lated extensively in these areas.” Miles v. Apex Marine Corp., 498 U. S. 19, 27 (1990). When exercising its inher­ent common-law authority, “an admiralty court should look primarily to these legislative enactments for policy guidance.” Ibid. We may depart from the policies found in the statutory scheme in discrete instances based on long-established history, see, e.g., Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, 557 U. S. 404, 424–425 (2009), but we do so cautiously in light of Congress’s persistent pursuit of “uniformity in the exercise of admiralty jurisdiction.” Miles, supra, at 26 (quoting Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc., 398 U. S. 375, 401 (1970)).

This case asks whether a mariner may recover punitive damages on a claim that he was injured as a result of the unseaworthy condition of the vessel. We have twice con­fronted similar questions in the past several decades, and our holdings in both cases were based on the particular claims involved. In Miles, which concerned a wrongful-death claim under the general maritime law, we held that recovery was limited to pecuniary damages, which did not include loss of society. 498 U. S., at 23. And in Atlantic Sounding, after examining centuries of relevant case law, we held that punitive damages are not categorically barred as part of the award on the traditional maritime claim of maintenance and cure. 557 U. S., at 407. Here, because there is no historical basis for allowing punitive damages in unseaworthiness actions, and in order to promote uniformity with the way courts have applied parallel statutory causes of action, we hold that punitive damages remain unavailable in unseaworthiness actions.

The seaman’s right to recover damages for personal injury on a claim of unseaworthiness originates in the admiralty court decisions of the 19th century. At the time, “seamen led miserable lives.” D. Robertson, S. Friedell, & M. Sturley, Admiralty and Maritime Law in the United States 163 (2d ed. 2008). Maritime law was largely judge­made, and seamen were viewed as “emphatically the wards of the admiralty.” Harden v. Gordon, 11 F. Cas. 480, 485 (No. 6,047) (CC Me. 1823). In that era, the pri­mary responsibility for protecting seamen lay in the courts, which saw mariners as “peculiarly entitled to”—and particularly in need of—judicial protection “against the effects of the superior skill and shrewdness of masters and owners of ships.” Brown v. Lull, 4 F. Cas. 407, 409 (No. 2,018) (CC Mass. 1836) (Story, J.).

Courts of admiralty saw it as their duty not to be “con­fined to the mere dry and positive rules of the common law” but to “act upon the enlarged and liberal jurispru­dence of courts of equity; and, in short, so far as their powers extended, they acted as courts of equity.” This Court interpreted the Constitution’s grant of admi­ralty jurisdiction to the Federal Judiciary as “the power to . . . dispose of a case as justice may require.” The Reso­lute, 168 U. S. 437, 439 (1897).

Courts used this power to protect seamen from injury primarily through two causes of action. The first, mainte­nance and cure, has its roots in the medieval and renaissance law codes that form the ancient foundation of mari­time common law.

The duty of maintenance and cure requires a ship’s master “to provide food, lodging, and medical services to a seaman injured while serving the ship.” Lewis v. Lewis & Clark Marine, Inc., 531 U. S. 438, 441 (2001). This duty, “which arises from the contract of employment, does not rest upon negligence or culpability on the part of the owner or master, nor is it restricted to those cases where the seaman’s employment is the cause of the injury or illness.” Calmar S. S. Corp. v. Taylor, 303 U. S. 525, 527 (1938).

The second claim, unseaworthiness, is a much more recent development and grew out of causes of action unre­lated to personal injury. In its earliest forms, an unsea­worthiness claim gave sailors under contract to sail on a ship the right to collect their wages even if they had re­fused to board an unsafe vessel after discovering its condi­tion. See, e.g., Dixon v. The Cyrus, 7 F. Cas. 755, 757 (No. 3,930) (Pa. 1789); Rice v. The Polly & Kitty, 20 F. Cas. 666, 667 (No. 11,754) (Pa. 1789). Similarly, unseaworthiness was a defense to criminal charges against seamen who refused to obey a ship master’s orders. See, e.g., United States v. Nye, 27 F. Cas. 210, 211 (No. 15,906) (CC Mass. 1855); United States v. Ashton, 24 F. Cas. 873, 874–875 (No. 14,470) (CC Mass. 1834). A claim of unseaworthiness could also be asserted by a shipper to recover damages or by an insurer to deny coverage when the poor condition of the ship resulted in damage to or loss of the cargo. See The Caledonia, 157 U. S. 124, 132–136 (1895) (cataloging cases).

Only in the latter years of the 19th century did unsea­worthiness begin a long and gradual evolution toward remedying personal injury. Courts began to extend the cases about refusals to serve to allow recovery for mari­ners who were injured because of the unseaworthy condi­tion of the vessel on which they had served. These early cases were sparse, and they generally allowed recovery only when a vessel’s owner failed to exercise due diligence to ensure that the ship left port in a seaworthy condition (…) Because a claimant had to show that he was injured by some aspect of the ship’s condition that rendered the vessel unseawor­thy, a claim could not prevail based on “the negligence of the master, or any member of the crew.” (…) Instead, a seaman had to show that the owner of the vessel had failed to exercise due diligence in ensuring the ship was in seaworthy condi­tion. See generally Dixon v. United States, 219 F. 2d 10, 12–14 (CA2 1955) (Harlan, J.) (cataloging evolution of the claim).

(It was only after the passage of the Jones Act that negligence by a fellow mariner provided a reliable basis for recovery (fn. 4)).

Tremendous shifts in mariners’ rights took place be­tween 1920 and 1950. First, during and after the First World War, Congress enacted a series of laws regulating maritime liability culminating in the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, §33, 41 Stat. 1007 (Jones Act), which codified the rights of injured mariners and created new statutory claims that were freed from many of the common-law limitations on recovery. The Jones Act provides injured seamen with a cause of action and a right to a jury. 46 U. S. C. §30104. Rather than create a new structure of substantive rights, the Jones Act incorporated the rights provided to railway workers under the Federal Employers’ liability Act (FELA), 45 U. S. C. §51 et seq. 46 U. S. C. §30104. In the 30 years after the Jones Act’s passage, “the Act was the vehicle for almost all seamen’s personal injury and death actions.” Gilmore & Black §6–20, at 327.

But the Jones Act was overtaken in the 1950s by the second fundamental change in personal injury maritime claims—and it was this Court, not Congress, that played the leading role. In a pair of decisions in the late 1940s, the Court transformed the old claim of unseaworthiness, which had demanded only due diligence by the vessel owner, into a strict-liability claim. In Mahnich v. South­ern S. S. Co., 321 U. S. 96 (1944), the Court stated that “the exercise of due diligence does not relieve the owner of his obligation” to provide a seaworthy ship and, in the same ruling, held that the fellow-servant doctrine did not provide a defense. Id., at 100, 101.

(…) Less than two years later, we affirmed that the duty of seaworthiness was “essentially a species of liability without fault . . . neither limited by conceptions of negligence nor contrac­tual in character. It is a form of absolute duty owing to all within the range of its humanitarian policy.” Seas Ship­ping Co. v. Sieracki, 328 U. S. 85, 94–95 (1946).

From Mahnich forward, “the decisions of this Court have undeviatingly reflected an understanding that the owner’s duty to furnish a seaworthy ship is absolute and completely independent of his duty under the Jones Act to exercise reasonable care.” Mitchell v. Trawler Racer, Inc., 362 U. S. 539, 549 (1960). As a result of Mah­nich and Sieracki, between the 1950s and 1970s “the unseaworthiness count was the essential basis for recov­ery with the Jones Act count preserved merely as a jury-getting device.”

(…) The shifts in plaintiff preferences between Jones Act and unseaworthiness claims were possible because of the significant overlap between the two causes of action. One leading treatise goes so far as to describe the two claims as “alternative ‘grounds’ of recov­ery for a single cause of action.” 2 R. Force & M. Norris, The Law of Seamen §30:90, p. 30–369 (5th ed. 2003). The two claims are so similar that, immediately after the Jones Act’s passage, we held that plaintiffs could not submit both to a jury. Plamals, supra, at 156–157 (“Sea­men may invoke, at their election, the relief accorded by the old rules against the ship, or that provided by the new against the employer. But they may not have the benefit of both”). We no longer require such election. See McAl­lister v. Magnolia Petroleum Co., 357 U. S. 221, 222, n. 2 (1958). But a plaintiff still cannot duplicate his recovery by collecting full damages on both claims because, “whether or not the seaman’s injuries were occasioned by the un­seaworthiness of the vessel or by the negligence of the master or members of the crew, . . . there is but a single wrongful invasion of his primary right of bodily safety and but a single legal wrong.” Peterson, 278 U. S., at 138.

(The decline of Jones Act claims was arrested, although not reversed, by our holding that some negligent actions on a vessel may create Jones Act liability without rendering the vessel unseaworthy. See Usner v. Luckenbach Overseas Corp., 400 U. S. 494 (1971); see also 1B Benedict on Admiralty §23, p. 3–35 (7th rev. ed. 2018) (fn. 5)).

For claims of unseaworthiness, the overwhelming his­torical evidence suggests that punitive damages are not available.

(…) The lack of punitive damages in traditional maritime law cases is practically dispositive. By the time the claim of unseaworthiness evolved to remedy personal injury, punitive damages were a well-established part of the common law. Exxon Shipping, 554 U. S., at 491. Ameri­can courts had awarded punitive (or exemplary) damages from the Republic’s earliest days. See, e.g., Genay v. Nor­ris, 1 S. C. L. 6, 7 (1784); Coryell v. Colbaugh, 1 N. J. L. 77, 78 (1791). And yet, beyond the decisions discussed above, Batterton presents no decisions from the formative years of the personal injury unseaworthiness claim in which exemplary damages were awarded. From this we conclude that, unlike maintenance and cure, unseaworthiness did not traditionally allow recovery of punitive damages.

In light of this overwhelming historical evidence, we cannot sanction a novel remedy here unless it is required to maintain uniformity with Congress’s clearly expressed policies. Therefore, we must consider the remedies typi­cally recognized for Jones Act claims.

The Jones Act adopts the remedial provisions of FELA, and by the time of the Jones Act’s passage, this Court and others had repeatedly interpreted the scope of damages available to FELA plaintiffs. These early decisions held that “the damages recoverable under FELA are limited. . . strictly to the financial loss . . . sustained.”

(We also note that Congress declined to allow punitive damages when it enacted the Death on the High Seas Act. 46 U. S. C. §30303 (allowing “fair compensation for the pecuniary loss sustained” for a death on the high seas) (fn. 8)).

(…) Because unseaworthiness in its current strict-liability form is our own invention and came after passage of the Jones Act, it would exceed our current role to introduce novel remedies contradictory to those Congress has provided in similar areas. ((…) Declining to create remedy “that goes well beyond the limits of Congress’ ordered system of recovery”).

(…) The duty of mainte­nance and cure requires the master to provide medical care and wages to an injured mariner in the period after the injury has occurred. Calmar S. S. Corp., 303 U. S., at 527–528. By contrast, both the Jones Act and unseaworthiness claims compensate for the injury itself and for the losses resulting from the injury. Peterson, supra, at 138. In such circumstances, we are particularly mindful of the rule that requires us to promote uniformity between mari­time statutory law and maritime common law.

(…) Unseaworthiness claims run against the owner of the vessel (…) See Sieracki, 328 U. S., at 100 (The duty of seaworthiness is “peculiarly and exclusively the obligation of the owner. It is one he cannot delegate”).

Finally, because “noncompensatory damages are not part of the civil-code tradition and thus unavailable in such countries,” Exxon Shipping, 554 U. S., at 497, allow­ing punitive damages would place American shippers at a significant competitive disadvantage and would discour­age foreign-owned vessels from employing American sea­men. See Gotanda, Punitive Damages: A Comparative Analysis, 42 Colum. J. Transnat’l L. 391, 396, n. 24 (2004) (listing civil-law nations that restrict private plaintiffs to compensatory damages).

(…) In light of these changes and of the roles now played by the Judiciary and the political branches in protecting sailors, the special solicitude to sailors has only a small role to play in contemporary maritime law.


Secondary sources: Benedict on Admiralty (7th rev. ed. 2018); R. Force & M. Norris, The Law of Seamen (5th ed. 2003).


(U.S. Supreme Court, June 24, 2019, Dutra Group v. Batterton, Docket No. 18-266, J. Alito)

Monday, June 10, 2019

U.S. Supreme Court, Return Mail, Inc. v. Postal Service, Docket No. 17-1594, J. Sotomayor


Patent Reexamination
Post-Issuance Review Proceedings
Defense in an Infringement Action
Ex Parte Reexamination
Inter Partes Reexamination
Inter Partes Review
Post-Grant Review
Covered-Business-Method Review
Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
Interpretation (Statute)
Dictionary Act

In the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011, 35 U. S. C. §100 et seq., Congress created the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and established three new types of administrative proceedings before the Board that allow a “person” other than the patent owner to challenge the validity of a patent post-issuance. The question presented in this case is whether a federal agency is a “person” able to seek such review under the statute. We conclude that it is not.

(…) After a patent issues, there are several avenues by which its validity can be revisited. The first is through a defense in an infringement action. Generally, one who intrudes upon a patent without authorization “infringes the patent” and becomes subject to civil suit in the federal district courts, where the patent owner may demand a jury trial and seek monetary damages and injunctive relief. §§271(a), 281–284. If, however, the Federal Gov­ernment is the alleged patent infringer, the patent owner must sue the Government in the United States Court of Federal Claims and may recover only “reasonable and entire compensation” for the unauthorized use. 28 U. S. C. §1498(a).

Once sued, an accused infringer can attempt to prove by clear and convincing evidence “that the patent never should have issued in the first place.” Microsoft Corp. v. i4i L. P., 564 U. S. 91, 96–97 (2011); see 35 U. S. C. §282(b). If a defendant succeeds in showing that the claimed invention falls short of one or more patentability requirements, the court may deem the patent invalid and absolve the defendant of liability.

The Patent Office may also reconsider the validity of issued patents. Since 1980, the Patent Act has empow­ered the Patent Office “to reexamine—and perhaps cancel—a patent claim that it had previously allowed.” Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC v. Lee, 579 U. S. ___, ___ (2016) (slip op., at 3). This procedure is known as ex parte reexamination. “Any person at any time” may cite to the Patent Office certain prior art that may “bear on the patentability of any claim of a particular patent”; and the person may additionally request that the Patent Office reexamine the claim on that basis. 35 U. S. C. §§301(a), 302(a). If the Patent Office concludes that the prior art raises “a substantial new question of patentability,” the agency may reexamine the patent and, if warranted, cancel the patent or some of its claims. §§303(a), 304–307. The Director of the Patent Office may also, on her “own initiative,” initiate such a proceeding. §303(a).

In 1999 and 2002, Congress added an “inter partes reexamination” procedure, which similarly invited “any person at any time” to seek reexamination of a patent on the basis of prior art and allowed the challenger to partic­ipate in the administrative proceedings and any subse­quent appeal. See §311(a) (2000 ed.); §§314(a), (b) (2006 ed.); Cuozzo Speed Technologies, 579 U. S., at ___ (slip op., at 3).

In 2011, Congress overhauled the patent system by enacting the America Invents Act (AIA), which created the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and phased out inter partes reexamination. See 35 U. S. C. §6; H. R. Rep. No. 112–98, pt. 1, pp. 46–47. In its stead, the AIA tasked the Board with overseeing three new types of post-issuance review proceedings.

First, the “inter partes review” provision permits “a person” other than the patent owner to petition for the review and cancellation of a patent on the grounds that the invention lacks novelty or nonobviousness in light of “patents or printed publications” existing at the time of the patent application. §311.

Second, the “post-grant review” provision permits “a person who is not the owner of a patent” to petition for review and cancellation of a patent on any ground of patentability. §321; see §§282(b)(2), (b)(3). Such proceedings must be brought within nine months of the patent’s issu­ance. §321.

Third, the “covered-business-method review” (CBM review) provision provides for changes to a patent that claims a method for performing data processing or other operations used in the practice or management of a finan­cial product or service. AIA §§18(a)(1), (d)(1), 125 Stat.329, note following 35 U. S. C. §321, p. 1442. CBM review tracks the “standards and procedures of” post-grant re­view with two notable exceptions: CBM review is not limited to the nine months following issuance of a patent, and “a person” may file for CBM review only as a defense against a charge or suit for infringement. §18(a)(1)(B),125 Stat. 330.

The CBM review program will stop accepting new claims in 2020. See AIA §18(a)(3)(A), 125 Stat. 330; 77 Fed. Reg. 48687 (2012).

(…) Any party “dissatisfied” with the Board’s final decision may seek judicial review in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, §§319, 329; see §141(c), and the Director of the Patent Office may intervene, §143.

In sum, in the post-AIA world, a patent can be reex­amined either in federal court during a defense to an infringement action, in an ex parte reexamination by the Patent Office, or in the suite of three post-issuance review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

(…) The AIA provides that only “a person” other than the patent owner may file with the Office a petition to insti­tute a post-grant review or inter partes review of an issued patent. 35 U. S. C. §§311(a), 321(a). The statute likewise provides that a “person” eligible to seek CBM review may not do so “unless the person or the person’s real party in interest or privy has been sued for infringement.” AIA §18(a)(1)(B), 125 Stat. 330. The question in this case is whether the Government is a “person” capable of institut­ing the three AIA review proceedings.

The patent statutes do not define the term “person.” In the absence of an express statutory definition, the Court applies a “longstanding interpretive presumption that ‘person’ does not include the sovereign,” and thus excludes a federal agency like the Postal Service.

(…) This presumption reflects “common usage.” (…) It is also an express directive from Congress: The Dictionary Act has since 1947 provided the definition of “‘person’ ” that courts use “in determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, unless the context indicates otherwise.” 1 U. S. C. §1; (…) The Act provides that the word “ ‘person’ . . . includes corporations, companies, associa­tions, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock com­panies, as well as individuals.” §1. Notably absent from the list of “persons” is the Federal Government.

(…) Given the presumption that a statutory reference to a “person” does not include the Government, the Postal Service must show that the AIA’s context indicates otherwise. Although the Postal Service need not cite to “an express contrary definition,” Rowland, 506 U. S., at 200, it must point to some indication in the text or context of the statute that affirmatively shows Congress intended to include the Government. See Cooper, 312 U. S., at 605.

(…) Patent Office’s Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP)

(…) This Court has not decided whether common-law estoppel applies in §1498 suits (cf. fn. 10).


(U.S. Supreme Court, June 10, 2019, Return Mail, Inc. v. Postal Service, Docket No. 17-1594, J. Sotomayor)

Parker Drilling Management Services, Ltd. v. Newton, Docket No. 18-389, J. Thomas, Unanimous


Admiralty Law
Maritime Law
Continental Shelf
Drilling Platforms
State Law Adopted as Federal Law?
Pre-emption
California Law (Minimum Wages)
Interpretation (Statute)

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), 67 Stat. 462, 43 U. S. C. §1331 et seq., extends federal law to the subsoil and seabed of the Outer Continental Shelf and all attachments thereon (OCS). Under the OCSLA, all law on the OCS is federal law, administered by federal officials. The OCSLA denies States any interest in or jurisdiction over the OCS, and it deems the adjacent State’s laws to be federal law “to the extent that they are applicable and not inconsistent with” other federal law. §1333(a)(2)(A). The question before us is how to determine which state laws meet this requirement and therefore should be adopted as federal law. Applying familiar tools of statutory interpretation, we hold that where federal law addresses the relevant issue, state law is not adopted as surrogate federal law on the OCS.

Respondent Brian Newton worked for petitioner Parker Drilling Management Services on drilling platforms off the coast of California. Newton’s 14-day shifts involved 12 hours per day on duty and 12 hours per day on standby, during which he could not leave the platform. He was paid well above the California and federal minimum wages for his time on duty, but he was not paid for his standby time.

(…) Parker, on the other hand, argues that state law is not “applicable” on the OCS in the absence of a gap in federal law that needs to be filled. Moreover, Parker argues that state law can be “inconsistent” with federal law even if it is possible for a party to satisfy both sets of laws. Specifically, Parker contends that, although the FLSA normally accommodates more protective state wage-and-hour laws, such laws are inconsistent with the FLSA when adopting state law as surrogate federal law because federal law would then contain two different standards.

Although this is a close question of statutory interpretation, on the whole we find Parker’s approach more persuasive because “ ‘the words of a statute must be read in their context and with a view to their place in the overall statutory scheme.’ ” Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc., 566 U. S. 93, 101 (2012).

That rule is particularly relevant here, as the terms “applicable” and “not inconsistent” are susceptible of interpretations that would deprive one term or the other of meaning. If Newton is right that “applicable” merely means relevant to the subject matter, then the word adds nothing to the statute, for an irrelevant law would never be “applicable” in that sense (…) And if Parker is right that “applicable” means “necessary to fill a gap in federal law,” it is hard to imagine circumstances in which “not inconsistent” would add anything to the statute, for a state law would rarely be inconsistent with a federal law that leaves a gap that needs to be filled.

(…) In short, the two terms standing alone do not resolve the question before us. Particularly given their indeterminacy in isolation, the terms should be read together and interpreted in light of the entire statute. See Star Athletica, L. L. C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc., 580 U. S. ___, ___ (2017) (slip op., at 6) (“ ‘Interpretation of a phrase of uncertain reach is not confined to a single sentence when the text of the whole statute gives instruction as to its meaning’ ”).

Our pre-OCSLA decisions made clear that the Federal Government controlled the OCS in every respect, and the OCSLA reaffirmed the central role of federal law on the OCS. As discussed, the OCSLA gives the Federal Government complete “jurisdiction, control, and power of disposition” over the OCS, while giving the States no “interest in or jurisdiction” over it. §§1332(1), 1333(a)(3). The statute applies federal law to the OCS “to the same extent as if the OCS were an area of exclusive Federal jurisdiction located within a State.” §1333(a)(1). Accordingly, the only law on the OCS is federal law, and state laws are adopted as federal law only “to the extent that they are applicable and not inconsistent with” federal law. §1333(a)(2)(A).

Taken together, these provisions convince us that state laws can be “applicable and not inconsistent” with federal law under §1333(a)(2)(A) only if federal law does not address the relevant issue. As we have said before, the OCSLA makes apparent “that federal law is ‘exclusive’ in its regulation of the OCS, and that state law is adopted only as surrogate federal law.” Rodrigue v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 395 U. S. 352, 357 (1969). The OCSLA extends all federal law to the OCS, and instead of also extending state law writ large, it borrows only certain state laws. These laws, in turn, are declared to be federal law and are administered by federal officials.

Given the primacy of federal law on the OCS and the limited role of state law, it would make little sense to treat the OCS as a mere extension of the adjacent State, where state law applies unless it conflicts with federal law. See PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, 564 U. S. 604, 617–618 (2011). That type of pre-emption analysis is applicable only where the overlapping, dual jurisdiction of the Federal and State Governments makes it necessary to decide which law takes precedence.

(…) The question is whether federal law has already addressed the relevant issue; if so, state law addressing the same issue would necessarily be inconsistent with existing federal law and cannot be adopted as surrogate federal law. Put another way, to the extent federal law applies to a particular issue, state law is inapplicable.

(…) In Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson, 404 U. S. 97 (1971), the Court again viewed the OCSLA as adopting state law to fill in federal-law gaps. In Huson, the question was whether federal admiralty law or a state statute governed a tort action arising from an injury that occurred on the OCS. Id., at 98–99. Describing Rodrigue’s analysis, we explained that where “there exists a substantial ‘gap’ in federal law,” “state law remedies are not ‘inconsistent’ with applicable federal law.” 404 U. S., at 101. We highlighted that “state law was needed” as surrogate federal law because federal law alone did not provide “ ‘a complete body of law,’ ” which is why “Congress specified that a comprehensive body of state law should be adopted by the federal courts in the absence of existing federal law.” Id., at 103–104. In other words, the OCSLA “made clear provision for filling in the ‘gaps’ in federal law.” Id., at 104. And because Congress had decided not to apply federal admiralty law on the OCS, leaving a gap on the relevant issue, we held that it was appropriate to “absorb” the state law as federal law. Id., at 104, 109.

(…) All law on the OCS is federal, and state law serves a supporting role, to be adopted only where there is a gap in federal law’s coverage.

(…) Applying this standard, some of Newton’s present claims are readily resolvable. For instance, some of his claims are premised on the adoption of California law requiring payment for all time that Newton spent on standby. See Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, Inc., 60 Cal. 4th 833, 842, 340 P. 3d 355, 361 (2015); Cal. Lab. Code Ann. §510(a) (West 2011). But federal law already addresses this issue. See 29 CFR §785.23 (2018) (“An employee who resides on his employer’s premises on a permanent basis or for extended periods of time is not considered as working all the time he is on the premises”); see also 29 U. S. C. §207(a). Therefore, this California law does not provide the rule of decision on the OCS, and to the extent Newton’s OCS-based claims rely on that law, they necessarily fail.

Likewise, to the extent Newton’s OCS-based claims rely on the adoption of the California minimum wage (currently $12), Cal. Lab. Code Ann. §1182.12(b) (West Supp. 2019), the FLSA already provides for a minimum wage, 29 U. S. C. §206(a)(1), so the California minimum wage does not apply.

(…) Of course, it is conceivable that state law might be “inconsistent” with federal law for purposes of §1333(a)(2) even absent an on-point federal law. For example, federal law might contain a deliberate gap, making state law inconsistent with the federal scheme. Or, state law might be inconsistent with a federal law addressing a different issue. We do not foreclose these or other possible inconsistencies (fn. 2, p. 14). 

(U.S. Supreme Court, June 10, 2019, Parker Drilling Management Services, Ltd. v. Newton, Docket No. 18-389, J. Thomas, unanimous)